


A Hidden Truth

by Charlie9646



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Aurors, Co-workers, Drabble, Dumbledore’s Armada, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Flash Fic Comp, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Locked In, Mentions of past self harm, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Post War, Secrets, Soulmarks, Soulmates, Tattoos, trapped to together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 15:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26540194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charlie9646/pseuds/Charlie9646
Summary: Draco Malfoy knew three things you can shape how you see your own body, arguing with your co-worker doesn’t help, and the most important Hermione Jean Granger was his soulmate.But telling her was something else entirely.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 10
Kudos: 77
Collections: Trope Mashup Comp





	A Hidden Truth

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [Trope_Mashup_Flash_Fic_Comp](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Trope_Mashup_Flash_Fic_Comp) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Trapped Together + Soulmates
> 
> Thank you to my Beta pandora_rose_xo

There was a spell that some parents would do on their children. It had no exact name; or not one that was known now. However, the easiest way to explain it was that it was a soulmate spell. It left its mark by carving their initials into your skin and therefore branding you for life.

Draco’s parents didn’t call it that; because their soulmates had been someone who liked them. Someone who they knew from birth that they were destined to be with, but Draco would never get that. His soulmate was Hermione Jean Granger and the woman hated him with every fiber of her being. 

_ What were you supposed to do if the person you were born to love felt nothing but hatred for you?  _

Avoiding it had been what Draco had tried to do most of his life. In the disaster that had been his sixth year he had taken to carving up his skin trying to remove it. All the cuts did was make it clearer and sharper to his eyes. There was no way to get rid of it. After the war out of desperation he saw a mind healer, Ms. Prince or  _ Eileen  _ as she tried to get him to call her. 

Snape’s mother was an interesting woman to say the least. Her black eyes brought him comfort even if she was just as strict as her son had been. But, she helped Draco. A person haunted by her past helping another that was too. She too had a mark the initials TDS were on the woman’s ankle. It was rarely visible and looked as if once she had tried to burn it off. 

Eileen had been the one to suggest tattoos. Saying her son had done that with his own dark mark. 

So, that’s what Draco did hiding away his pain with beauty. Flowers, dragons, birds, and all manner of things covered his arms. Hiding away his secrets in their patchwork. Until Draco was told that he had to work with Granger that is.

The unspeakable and the Auror had spent months snarling at each other. Over the years they had learned to push each other's buttons. But, this wasn't fun and games they had a job to do. 

_ It shouldn’t be personal,  _ Draco thought.  _ It was work and they had a job to do. Well when they weren’t trapped in a basement that is. _

Draco slammed his shoulder into the iron-clad oak door trying to open it, but failed to do so. The hinges only creaked with a resounding groan. 

“Like that’s going to do us good,” Hermione muttered, brushing a hand through her curly brown hair. “There has to be something here to trigger the door to open.” 

Draco paced across the wood floor his heels making a resounding clank. “Well then, Granger, what do you think it looks like?”

“I don’t bloody well know!” She spat, “ _ Lumos.” _ Hermione held up her wand lighting her way in the darkened room and pointing it at him. 

Hermione stared, not at him but  _ through _ him. Her brown eyes had haunted him for a decade, but her initials had for even longer.

“Hermione,” he said, waving his finger over her shoulder. “There is a snake behind you.”

The woman spun around terrified then a growl escaped her lips, “Draco Lucius Malfoy, you are a bloody wanker if there ever was one.”

Humor had been something for as long as he could remember Draco had been using to deflect. Telling her there was some non-existence creature behind her instead of saying exactly what he wanted to. The words were like a rock in his throat sitting there suffocating him. 

“Actually I have to tell you something else,” Draco sighed, sitting down on the desk Hermione had backed him into. “Or maybe it’s better that I just bloody well show you.”

“Show me what?” Hermione asked, warm brown eyes wide. “Malfoy, please just stop playing games with me…I am tired of it you have been fucking doing this for months and I am damn well tired of it.”

Draco leaned in closer to her, Hermione smelled like herbs and aloe soap.

_ Maybe there was some point to the letters on his arm,  _ Draco thought.  _ This woman was kind, pretty, funny, smart, outspoken and sometimes downright snarky. She was perfect in a comfortable and lovely way that he could not truly explain. Not even to himself. Hermione Jean Granger just felt right.  _

“Spit it out, Draco, I don’t have time for this. We need to get out of here and we actually have a job to do and that isn’t staring at each other.” 

“There is a spell that purebloods use to figure out their child’s soulmate. It’s usually done when the child is two or three years old. It doesn’t give you a person’s name, but it does give you their initials.” He rambled on, “mine are HJG. My parents didn’t know who that was. The British Wizarding World is rather small, so they assumed she would be a Goyle, but they never had a daughter. And then when I was eleven… I met you.

I tried desperately to hide it. My father surely wouldn’t accept my soulmate being…”

“A mudblood,” Hermione asked, her anger coming off her in waves. “Of course, you are the same as you always were. Judging those you don’t understand about things they cannot change.”

“I don’t agree with him, Hermione,” Draco whispered. “I just never knew the way I was going to tell you. You were with Weasley and seemed happy, so I did my best to bury it.”

“You see I too did the spell. To myself,” Hermione started to unbutton her blouse pulling it off her shoulder to show off her own mark. “I found it in a book in our eighth year. Curiosity killed the cat of sorts.”

“And satisfaction brought him back,” he laughed. 

Hermione smiled at him, “I too didn’t say anything because you were with Astoria and then you were with…”

“Theo,” Draco said, running his fingers through his hair. “Is that a problem?” 

“No,” she said. “So long as you are still not with him that is. I am not going to be the cause of a breakup, soulmate or not.” Hermione shifted away from him and crossed her arms over her chest.

“We broke up a couple of months ago,” he said. “Partly because of the fact him and his soulmate finally got together.”

“So,” Hermione said. “Do you want to give this a go or not?”

“Yes,” Draco responded, his face heating up. “I think I do want to give it a go.”

And with that a loud click of the door’s locks opening filled Draco’s ears.

_ How in Merlin’s name? _ He thought. 

“Come on Draco,” she said, dragging him with her. “I don’t know why that opened, but I don’t want to be stuck in here if it closes again.” 

Together the two of them stepped out of that room, everything was different, but maybe that was a good thing. 


End file.
